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Corrieyairack Pass military road is a highland communication route crossing the Monadhliath Mountains between Black Burn and Connachie Burn in Inverness-shire. The road traverses terrain underlain by Grampian Group bedrock, ancient psammite and semipelite deposits laid down during the Neoproterozoic era. This challenging upland crossing, now protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument, forms part of the network of military roads constructed to improve control and communication across the Scottish Highlands.
The route's construction reflects eighteenth-century military strategy, when improved roads became essential for moving troops and supplies through previously inaccessible terrain. The Corrieyairack Pass, at over 600 metres elevation, represents the practical engineering challenges faced in establishing such routes across the Grampian uplands. The underlying ancient metamorphic rocks have weathered significantly over geological timescales, creating the moorland landscape through which the road passes.
The monument retains considerable archaeological significance as a linear feature that can be traced across the high moorland. Its survival as an identifiable archaeological asset demonstrates the durability of such construction against both geological processes and the harsh Highland climate. The road remains an important landscape feature connecting these two burns and illustrates the historical investment in military infrastructure across the Scottish uplands.
Corrieyairack Pass,military road,Black Burn to Connachie Burn is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6142. View the official record →
Corrieyairack Pass military road is a highland communication route crossing the Monadhliath Mountains between Black Burn and Connachie Burn in Inverness-shire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6142.
Corrieyairack Pass,military road,Black Burn to Connachie Burn is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM6142.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Corrieyairack Pass,military road,Connachie Burn to Culachy (1.3 km), Corrieyairack Pass,military road,Allt Lagan a'Bhainne to Black Burn (3 km), Caledonian Canal,Kyltra Lock (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Corrieyairack Pass,military road,Black Burn to Connachie Burn's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Corrieyairack Pass,military road,Black Burn to Connachie Burn stands on Grampian Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite and semipelite.